XXVIII
THE RETURN
His friends would scarcely have picked out Mr. Ned Cromarty ofStanesland as likely to make a distinguished actor, but they might havechanged their opinion had they heard him breezily announce himself asMr. Dawkins from Liverpool and curse the Scottish railways which hadlost his luggage for him. It is true that the landlord looked at him atrifle askance and that the landlady and her maid exchanged a knowingsmile when he ordered a room for his niece Louisa, but few people shutup in a little country inn with such a formidable looking, loud voicedgiant, would have ventured to question his statements openly, and theequanimity of Mr. Dawkins remained undisturbed.
"Sit right down, Louisa!" he commanded when dinner was served; and then,addressing the maid, "You needn't wait. We'll ring when we need you."
But the moment she had gone he checked a strong expression with aneffort.
"Damn--confound it!" he cried. "I ought to have remembered to say grace!That would have given just the finishing touch to the Uncle Nedbusiness. However, I don't think they've smelt any rats."
Cicely smiled faintly and then her eyes fell and she answered nothing.Their only other conversation during dinner consisted in hisexpostulations on her small appetite and her low-voiced protests thatshe wasn't hungry. But when it was safely over, he pushed back hischair, crossed his knees, and began:
"Now, Louisa, I'm going to take an uncle's privilege of lighting my pipebefore I begin to talk, if you don't mind."
He lit his pipe, and then suddenly dropping the role of unclealtogether, said gently:
"I don't want to press you with any questions that you don't want toanswer, but if you need a friend of any sort, size, or description, hereI am." He paused for a moment and then asked still more gently: "Are youafraid of me?"
For the first time she let her long-lashed eyes rest full on his faceand in her low voice, she answered:
"Partly afraid."
"And partly what else?"
"Partly puzzled--and partly ashamed."
"Ashamed!" he exclaimed with a note of indignant protest. "Ashamed ofwhat?"
"The exhibition I've made of myself," she said, her voice still verylow.
"Well," he smiled, "that's a matter of opinion. But why are you afraid?"
"Oh," she exclaimed. "You know of course!"
He stared at her blankly.
"I pass; I can't play to that!" he replied. "I honestly do not know,Miss Farmond."
Her eyes opened very wide.
"That's what I meant when I said I was puzzled. You _must_ know--andyet----!"
She broke off and looked at him doubtfully.
"Look here," said he, "some one's got to solve this mystery, and I'llrisk a leading question. Why did you run away?"
"Because of what you have been doing!"
"_Me_ been doing! And what have I been doing?"
"Suspecting me and setting a detective to watch me!"
Ned's one eye opened wide, but for a moment he said not a word. Then heremarked quietly:
"This is going to be a derned complicated business. Just you begin atthe beginning, please, and let's see how things stand. Who told you Iwas setting a detective on to you?"
"I found out myself I was being watched."
"How and when?"
She hesitated, and the doubtful look returned to her eyes.
"Come, Louisa!" he said. "No nonsense this time! We've got to have thisout--or my name's Dawkins!"
For the first time she smiled spontaneously, and the doubtful lookalmost vanished. Just a trace was left, but her voice, though still verylow, was firmer now.
"I only discovered for the first time the wicked suspicion about poorMalcolm," she said, "when I met a gentleman a few days ago who told mehe had heard Malcolm was arrested for the murder of Sir Reginald."
"But that's not true!" cried Ned.
"No, and he admitted it was only a story he had heard at the hotel, butit suddenly seemed to throw light on several things I hadn't been ableto understand. I spoke to Lady Cromarty about it, and then I actuallyfound that I was suspected too!"
"Did she tell you so?"
"Not in so many words, but I knew what was in her mind. And then thevery next day I caught the same man examining the library with Bissetand I saw him out of the window follow Lady Cromarty and speak to her,and then I knew he was a detective!"
"How did you know?"
"Oh, by instinct, and I was right! The position was so horrible--sounbearable, that I went in to see Mr. Rattar about it."
"Why Rattar?"
"Because he is the family lawyer and he's also investigating the case,and I thought of course he was employing the detective. And Mr. Rattartold me you were really employing him. Are you?"
There was a pleading note in this question--a longing to hear the answer"No" that seemed to affect Ned strangely.
"It's all right, Miss Farmond!" he said. "Don't you worry! I got thatman down here to clear you--just for that purpose and no other!"
"But----" she exclaimed, "Mr. Rattar said you suspected Malcolm and meand were determined to prove our guilt!"
"Simon Rattar said that!"
There was something so menacing in his voice that Cicely involuntarilyshrank back.
"Do you mean to tell me, honour bright, that Simon Rattar told you thatlie in so many words?"
"Yes," she said, "he did indeed. And he said that this Mr. Carringtonwas a very clever man and was almost certain to trump up a very strongcase against us, and so he advised me to go away."
He seemed almost incapable of speech at this.
"He actually advised you to bolt?"
She nodded.
"To slip away quietly to London and stay in an hotel he recommended tillI heard from him. He said you had sworn to track down the criminals andhang them with your own hands, and so when I saw you suddenly come upbehind me in that dark road to-night--oh, you've no idea how terrified Iwas! Mr. Rattar had frightened away all the nerve I ever had, and thenwhen I thought I was safely away, you suddenly came up behind me in thatdark road!"
"You poor little----" he began, laying his hand upon hers, and then heremembered Sir Malcolm and altered his sentence into: "You know nowthat was all one infernal pack of lies, don't you?"
Though he took away his hand, she had not moved her own, and she gavehim now a look which richly rewarded him for his evening's work.
"I believe every word you tell me," she said.
"Well then," said Ned, "I tell you that I got this fellow Carringtondown to take up the case so that I could clear you in the first placeand find the right man in the second. So as to give him an absolutelyclear field, he wasn't told who was employing him, and then he couldsuspect me myself if he wanted to. As a matter of fact, I rather thinkhe has guessed who's running him. Anyhow, yesterday afternoon he told mestraight and emphatically that he knew you were innocent. So you've runaway a day too late!"
She laughed at last, and then fell serious again.
"But what did Mr. Rattar mean by saying you had engaged the detectivebecause you suspected Malcolm and me?"
"That's precisely what I want to find out," said Ned grimly. "He couldguess easy enough who was employing Carrington, because I had suggestedgetting a detective, only Simon wouldn't rise to it. But as to saying Isuspected you, he knew that was a lie, and I can only suspect he'sgetting a little tired of life!"
They talked on for a little longer, still sitting by the table, with hereyes now constantly smiling into his, until at last he had to remindhimself so vigorously of the absent and lucky baronet that the pleasurebegan to ebb. And then they said good-night and he was left staringinto the fire.
* * * * *
Next morning they faced one another in a first class carriage on ahomeward bound train.
"What shall I say to Lady Cromarty?" she asked, half smiling, halffearfully.
He reflected for a few minutes.
"Tell her the truth. Lies don't pay in the l
ong run. I can bear witnessto this part of the story, and to the Carrington part if necessary,though I don't want to give him away if I can help it."
"Oh no!" she said, "we mustn't interfere with him. But supposing LadyCromarty doesn't believe----"
"Come straight to Stanesland! Will you?"
"Run away again?"
"It's the direction you run in that matters," said he. "Now, mind you,that's understood!"
She was silent for a little and then she said:
"I can't understand why these horrible stories associate Malcolm and me.Why should we have conspired to do such a dreadful thing?"
He stared at her, and then hesitated.
"Because--well, being engaged to him----"
"Engaged to Malcolm!" she exclaimed. "Whatever put that into people'sheads?"
"What!" he cried. "Aren't you?"
"Good gracious no! Was _that_ the reason then?"
He seemed too lost in his own thoughts to answer her; but they wereevidently not unhappy thoughts this time.
"Who can have started such a story?" she demanded.
"Who started it?" he repeated and then was immersed in thought again;only now there was a grim look on his face.
"Well anyhow," he cried, in a minute or two, "we're out of that wood!Aren't we, Louisa?"
"Yes, Uncle Ned," she smiled back.
He stirred impulsively in his seat and then seemed to check himself, andfor the rest of the journey he appeared to be divided between contentwith the present hour and an impulse to improve upon it. And then beforehe had realised where they were, they had stopped at a station, and shewas exclaiming:
"Oh, I must get out here! I've left my bike in the station!"
"Look here," said he, with his hand on the door handle, "before you goyou've got to swear that you'll come straight to Stanesland if there'sanother particle of trouble. Swear?"
"But what about Miss Cromarty?" she smiled.
"Miss Cromarty will say precisely the same as I do," he said with acuriously significant emphasis. "So now, I don't open this door till youpromise!"
"I promise!" said she, and then she was standing on the platform wavinga farewell.
"I half wish I'd risked it!" he said to himself with a sigh as the trainmoved on, and then he ruminated with an expression on his face thatseemed to suggest a risk merely deferred.
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